Golf-club.



A. W. BIDDLE.

GOLF CLUB. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1 1910.

1,000,982. Patented Aug.22,1911.

UNITED sTATEs f A E ANDER .w. Blunts.- .QF r mnsnrnxe. ,rziiunsxl m qe; s

GOLF-CLUB.

Anim i n m n w 1, e a m- We:

To all whom a meg/ransom .Be it known that I, ALEXANDER :BID- DLE, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new ,and useful Improvements in Golf-Clubs, whereof the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In said drawigs, Figure I, represents a front view in elevation of the head, or lower end, of a golf club, embodying a preferred form of my invention,-the shaft being only partially indicated. Fig. II, represents a plan view of the under side of the head. Fig. 111, is a transverse section through the head, on the line III, III, of the other figures, showing also a golf ball of normal size in juxtaposition with the front face of the head.

My invention has peculiar value for clubs of the type usually termed brassies, whose construction and purpose are well known to golfers, and I have therefore illustrated the improvement in such an embodiment.

The object and specific utility of the in vention can be best stated after the descrip ti on thereof, which I shall now; proceed to In the drawings, 1, represents the lower portion of the shaft of the golf club, and 2, the head thereof, the remaining portion of the shaft not being shown, since its co nstruction is well understood. The head may be made of wood, as is usual in clubs of this type. v

3, indicates the front or striking face of theclub, which, as shown in Fig. III, is rearwardl inclined at that portion which is normal y intended to make contact with the ball 4, in the act of striking.

The sole, or lower portion of the clubis shown asprovided with a metal plate 5, which, throughout its main extent, has "substantially the flat surface and other characteristics of the plate used in ordinary brassies, but along the lower portion of the front, where the sole merges into the striking face,- said metallic plate (and correspondingly the wooden portion of thehead in contact with the same), is definitely rounded as indicated at 6. The rounding of the face is prolongedupward to a substantial distance above the p ane of the sole, preferablyextending'nearly to the point at which contact with the ball occurs in normal strik- Specification of Letters Patent.

-. ping, so that even in thehands of inex jsaa a; a ,22, 19,1 1.

ing. The metallic :plate =5, .maj.y. be securedto the head by means of screws Y, in the usual manner. I t v a The object of .the inventionandgthe eeific advantages thereof, are ibri-efly as ollows: Ordinarily in clubs o fithis-plass the front face and the sole are bothsubsta'ntlally pla s f es d m e a a distin angl so that a definite edgeis' presented along the region where they come togethen jthis edge being present even thou l1, as-is some, times the case, the front portlonjof theme-1 tallic plate is filed smooth. 'In' other words,

the metallic plate is substantially flat through its entire extent, and does not em-. brace the wood of the club in-anlupward direction along the lower portion-of-the front face. Theresult is that when such a club is used, for instance, in deepgrass,,the front edge has a tendency tobe caught by the grass, so that the force and accuracy of the.-

stroke are impaired. .So also, even in play-- ing from what is termeda ood lie, if the ground be struck, or sch aided, by the club, the relatively sharp-front lower edge tends to dig into the earth and cause the club to. trip, so that the stroke is "checked and the direction is deflected. definitely rounding the region where the ace mer es into the sole and prolonging said roun ed portion upward to a substantial distance, I

have found that a most surprising advantage may be obtained in avoiding such difli- V culties as are above stated. The club will slip through relatively thick "grass without entanglement or deflection, and in the case ,of striking the ground in'rear of the ball, will slide along the surface Without tripr1- en'ced golfers, the accuracy and force o the stroke can be maintained under circumstances Where with an ordinary brassie, the tendency to impairment wouid be very marked.

I have described and shown the invention in what I believe to be its most desirable embodiment, both as to details of structure and extent of rounding, but it must be understood that I do notlimit myself to the exact form or proportions-shown and described, nor do I consider it absolutely es- I sential that; when a metallic plate is used, it should be upwardly prolonged to the extreme limit of the rounded portion, although I deem such prolongation desirable,.in that 1 the face of the club (when wood is the material employed), is thereby better protected against bruising and s lintering. V

Having thus descri ed my invention, I, claim: 4

1. A golf club of the brassie type having a flat sole and a definitely rounded portion extending along the region where the front face merges into the sole, said rounded portion being prolonged upward to a point below, but substantially near to the region of normal cont-act between the front face and the ball in the act of striking.

2. A golf club of the brassie type having a flat sole and a definitely rounded portion extending along the region where the front] face merges into the sole, said rounded portion being prolonged upward to a point below, but substantially near to the region of normal contact between the front face and the ball in the act of striking; the sole and rounded portion being provided with a.

metallic plate whose front edge is extended upon and conforms to the face of said rounded portion.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this thirty-first day of May, 1910.

'ALEXANDER W. BIDDLE. Witnesses:

JAMES H. BELL,

E; L. FULLERTON. 

